Johan Ackermann has backed new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie to succeed.
Past encounters with former Chiefs coach Rennie left a lasting impression on Vodacom Bulls boss Ackermann, who was coaching the Lions at the time.
“I’ve got huge respect for Dave Rennie and we’ve always had a good relationship,” Ackermann said on the Megafoon Rugby podcast. “In 2014, when we came back into Super Rugby, we took a proper beating from his team in Hamilton.
“We spoke afterwards on the field and, strangely enough, that was almost confirmation that we were on the right track. We wanted to play an exciting brand of rugby, and here was a team that had just won Super Rugby doing exactly that.”
Ackermann, who took over the Bulls in mid-2025 and oversaw a seven-match losing streak earlier this season, stressed the importance of giving coaches time.
“We haven’t got the patience because the Bull supporters see [URC] finals and they want to get back in the final and I understand it completely,” he said.
“But if we want to change our culture and change a bit of our DNA, it’s just going to take time.
“If you look at where Dave Rennie went, it always took him a year or two, and then his teams started to win.”
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Rennie was appointed Wallabies coach in late 2019 before being fired in early 2023. However, this was during a transitional period in Australian rugby, with lockdown disruption too.
“I feel Australia pulled the trigger [on Rennie] too soon,” said Ackermann. “Then he joined Kobe [in 2023] and now they are almost top of the log in the Japan league against quality sides.
“I know there’s a question around the All Blacks – [in terms of] personnel, do they have a big tight five? – but I think Dave Rennie is a very good choice.”
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Ackermann emphasised that changing a team’s culture and style of play takes time and is centred on empowering players.
“If you want to play a certain style, you have to give players freedom and decision-making,” he explained. “It’s our job as coaches to create that environment and make them practise those skills over and over.”
Photo: Koki Nagahama/Getty Images
The post Ackers: Rennie a very good choice for All Blacks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Johan Ackermann has backed new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie to succeed.
The post Ackers: Rennie a very good choice for All Blacks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
